'Ponzi' not hurting Perry in primary

Among Republican primary voters, Gallup finds that Rick Perry's description of Social Security as a "Ponzi scheme" isn't hurting him: "As many Republicans say they are more likely to vote for Perry for president because of his views on Social Security as say they are less likely — 19% each."

It's a different story with independent voters, 32 percent of whom say Perry's "Ponzi scheme" comments make them less likely to support him. Twelve percent say the comments make them more likely to vote for Perry.

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That may, in turn, be feeding a perception among Republican primary voters that Perry will have difficulty in a general election becasue of his comments on Social Security:

In contrast to the 19% of Republicans who say they would personally be less likely to support Perry over his Social Security views, 37% believe those views would hurt his chances of being elected president if he were the GOP nominee. Just 17% say they will help his chances.

A GOP strategist argued in this space after the POLITICO/NBC debate that Social Security would become a serious problem for Perry when it started making Republicans nervous about his ability to beat President Barack Obama. The Gallup numbers don't necessarily show that electability concerns are rampant on the right, but they are starting to show up.